The Torah relates : (47:29-31): ‘The time approached for Israel to die, so he called for his son, for Yosef, and said to him:’Please - if I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and do חסד ואמת: kindness and truth with me please do not bury me in Egypt. For I will lie down with my fathers and you shall transport me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb.
‘He said:’I personally will do as you have said.’
‘He replied: ‘Swear to me’, and he swore to him.’
Rashi comments:’He called for his son, for Yosef’: the person who had the power to carry out his request.’
‘חסד: genuine kindness’: a kindness done for the dead is true kindness, because one does not look to any payment in return.’
‘Please do not bury me in Egypt’: because ultimately its soil will become lice, which would swarm under my body; AND because the dead outside the Land of Israel will be resurrected only after rolling through underground channels to the Land of Israel; AND so that the Egyptians not make me an object of idol worship.’
Siftei Chachamim - on this Rashi - elucidates:’ Rashi only mentions‘ kindness done with the dead’- but it includes whoever does an act for which he does not expect any payment in return, as an act of חסד ואמת.
‘As when Eliezer asked Laban to give Rivkah to him without any payment - not from him, that he give him presents - and certainly not from Avraham, who was far away.
‘If you should ask, then, why did Rashi not say that here was a matter of חסד ואמת, we need to say that, after all, we find that Yaakov did ‘pay’ Yosef for his promise to take him for burial in the Land of Israel, as the Torah relates later (48:22), that he gave him an additional gift, over his brothers.
‘Therefore, Rashi here expounded as he did, because at the time when Yaakov made his request to Yosef, he did not promise him any reward - nor wss it on his mind at that time, to give him that which he later gave him - Shechem - and for this reason, it said here חסד ואמת.’
The Kli Yakar, noting that Rashi offers three separate commentaries, says:’All three are needed, for each other, as the reason that he not be made an object of idol worship, and that lice not be his lot after his burial, are one: as why will they make him an object of idol worship, more than any other deceased? Because they will see that lice have taken hold in all the graves other than his.
‘If, on the other hand, lice did appear also in the earth of his grave, it wuld cause him discomfort - could the Creator not save him from this discomfort, especially as our Sages say:’רימה: Worms did not affect seven, one of them being Yaakov’ - and if worms did not have hold over them, certainly neither did lice.
‘These two reasons, in themselves, are not sufficient to explain why he commanded that he be buried in the Land of Canaan, and not elsewhere in the Land.
‘The concern of rolling through underground channels to the Land, is, in itself, also not sufficient, as, if it were, why did he command:’Do not bury me in Egypt’ - it would have sufficed that which he said:’Bury me in their tomb’.
‘Instead he said: I ask of you to bury me in the tomb of my fathers, but if something should prevent you from burying me in the Land of Canaan, bury me in a land other than Egypt - why? Because of the concern of becoming an object of idol wordhip, or of the lice.
‘He said’: ‘Swear to me’: not because he doubted Yosef, that he would not obey his father’s command, but rather to give him justification before Pharoah, as Rashi brings:’As he made you take an oath’: if not for that oath, he would not have permitted you to bury him outside Egypt.
‘The reason Yaakov added:’Swear TO ME’, was due to his concern that Pharoah would seek to absolve him from his oath - Yaakov therefore said:swear to me’, which meant that only Yaakov could absolve him of the oath - as it was made ‘to him’.’
The Ktav Sofer notes that Yosef added - seemingly superfluously - ‘I PERSONALLY will do as you have said’, commenting: He could - had he not said ‘personally’ - fulfiled his oath and his father’s command, by others, and not troubled himself to carry it out.
‘However, our Sages teach that it is more meritorious to personally perform an act, than to do so, by others - this more so, when one performs the act in fulfillment of a mitzvah; not so, when one does it for the expectation of a reward for his deed, as all that is required is that the deed his father asked be performed - his burial in the tomb of his fathers - be it by himself, or by others.
‘As Yaakov specifically asked that he do חסד ואמת :’kindness and truth with me’, Yosef answered:’I personally will do it’, as - it being a mitzvah - it is more meritorious when done in person, than by others.
‘This also explains why - after Yaakov had made him take an oath to do his bidding - he now - after Yosef had said:’I personally will do as you have said’ - made Yosef take a further oath, that he would do it personally.’
Rav Eliyahu Shlezinger raises another question, arising from Avraham sending Eliezer on his mission: ‘When he sent him on his mission to find a wife, for his son, Yitzchak, he also made him take an oath - as Yaakov did in our instance - we might opine that that was because Eliezer had a ‘personal interest’ in the matter, as he hoped that his daughter might be chosen to be the wife of Yitzchak, and might therefore not make every effort to fulfill Avraham’s wish, to find a wife for Yitzchak from Avraham’s family.
‘In the case of Yosef, what concern could Yaakov have, that led him to require that Yosef take an oath?
‘The reason may be, that Yaakov asked Yosef to do for him חסד ואמת: ‘kindness and truth’, which Rashi expounded as : ‘kindness’ which one does with the dead, which is ‘true’ kindness, as no reward is expected.
‘The Siftei Chachamim’ - which we brought - ‘added: not limited to that which is done for the dead, but whenever done without expectation of reward, even though the beneficiary is alive, it is still ‘true’ kindness.
‘When Yaakov asks Yosef, to ensure that:’I lie down with my fathers..and bury me in their tomb’, Yosef answers:’I personally will do as you ask’ - meaning: I, too, will do as you ask, and also command to be buried in the Land of Israel, and not in Egypt.
‘He thereby asked for something in exchange for fulfilling his father’s request.
‘Since Yosef asked for ‘something’ in exchange, Yaakov immediately asked him:’Swear to me’, and he swore to him’ - this because it was no longer a case of חסד ואמת, as - like Avraham’s servant, Eliezer - Yosef now had ‘a personal interest’ in the matter, it was no longer possible to believe him without his taking an oath.’
The Be’er Mayim Chaim also expounds in this way:’The word אנכי: ‘ I personally will do as you have said’, is superfluous , as Yosef should have simply said:’I will do as you have said’.
‘In the event that Yosef would want to bury him - Yaakov - in Egypt, so that the two of them would be buried in the same place, Yosef answered him, that this was not his intention for himself - but that he, too, would ‘do as you have said’, meaning: I, too, will do as you have said - to command that I be taken for burial out of Egypt .
‘This is why this is said here, as it is Yosef’s answer to Yaakov’s concern.’
The Panim Yafot adds:’Let us recall that Yaakov had been promised by Hashem (Vayigash 46:4) - when he told him not to fear descending to Egypt, to be reunited with his long-missing son, Yosef - that ‘I will ascend with you’, but his concern was that he not be interred there, and only brought to his final burial place, at the time of the redemption of Bnei Israel, from their exile - as was the case with Yosef.
‘This is what he meant by his plea: ‘do not bury me in Egypt’, not even temporarily.
‘Rather, as soon as I die, take me out of Egypt.
‘The Gemara (Ketuvot 111.) relates that Yaakov knew that he was completely righteous - and, if so, why did he trouble his sons to take him for burial, and not wait till the redemption? Answer: because of his fear that in the time he would kept in a crypt by the sons of Esav, who sought to bury Esav there - in place of Yaakov.
‘Our Sages (Sotah 13.) record that the sons of Esav, in fact, fought with the sons of Yaakov, over the burial plot.
‘Yaakov did not want to be buried anywhere other than with his fathers - and therefore commanded that he be taken there immediatelly, for burial.’
The Ben Ish Hai offers the following insight, on Yosef’s oath:’It appears to me, with help from Above, that Yosef would think:’If I swear, I am doing because of my oath - better, then, that I not take an oath, as then I will be doing it in fulfillment of the mitzvah of honoring my father’.
‘His father replied:’Swear to me, as you are not swearing on your own volition, but ‘to me’: because I commanded you to do so, and you are therefore, by the oath, heeding my command, as I told you:’Swear to me’.’
Abarbanel expounds:’The Torah relates that, as soon as Yaakov felt his strength waning, he realized that his days were coming to an end - though he was not ill at that time.
‘He therefore called for his son, Yosef, to command him as to his burial - a lesson to all of us, not to delay making arrangements until close to death, as then we will be less able to do what needs to be done.
‘He called for Yosef, because - according to Rashi - he had the power to do what needed to be done - rather than to his other sons.
‘The Midrash gives a different pleasing reason for this: since Yosef was the one who called him to descend to him, therefore it was right that Yosef also attend to his return, to the place from whence he brought him.
‘Yaakov seemingly foresaw in his ruach hakodesh, that Yosef’s bones would remain in Egypt, until the redemption, and was concerned lest Yosef should decide that this too, be the fate of his father.
‘He therefore said:’Do kindness and truth with me’, since Yaakov had two relationships with Yosef: his being his son, and his being the viceroy - as to the latter, he said:’do kindness with me’, as to the former - being his son, he said:’truth’, as he was obligated according to the intellectual truth, to do it.
‘His request’: ‘Please, do not bury me in Egypt’ - the word נא here, means ‘now’, meaning: I know that at the time of the redemption, Bnei Israel will take your bones from here, but I do not want that I should now be buried in Egypt, but, that immediately upon my death, take me out of Egypt, and bury me with my fathers, so that at no time, shall I be buried in Egypt.
‘Yosef answered:’’I will do as you say’, meaning: whatever is within my power, I will certainly do it- may it be Hashem’s Will, that Pharoah gives me permission to leave.
‘The Midrash elucidates, saying:’My father, after you strove so hard to be buried in the Land of Israel, I, too, will ‘do as you have said’, and command that, after my death, I also be taken from here, there - ‘as you have said’.
‘So that Pharoah not prevent Yosef doing his father’s bidding, Yaakov made Yosef take an oath - which he needed - so that he could say to Pharoah: ‘My father made me take an oath’,to which Pharoah’s reply was: ‘Ascend and bury your father, as you swore to your father.’
‘The Alshich Hakadosh expands on the importance of the oath, that Yaakov made Yosef swear, ‘as the Gemara (Sotah 36:) relates, that Pharoah did not allow Yosef to leave with his father’s remains, until Yosef said to him:’If you force me to break my oath to my father, I will also break my oath to you, that I not reveal that you do not know lashon hakodesh, and you will be dethroned.
‘This, I think, is the reason Yaakov made Yosef swear to him - so that he could use it, should Pharoah wish to prevent him doing Yaakov’s bidding.’
A final insight, from Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:’If I have found favor in your eyes’: this is not the way a father speaks to his son - nor a son to his father - least of all, Yaakov to so speak to Yosef.
‘The word נא: please, will explain the matter - Yosef, in his lofty station, no doubt wanted to utilize it to confer upon his father extra benefits, but Yaakov at no time agreed to accept them - he did not want to be the father of the ‘viceroy’, and now arrived the hour, that Yaakov wished to exercise his influence over Yosef.
‘Therefore:’if I have found favor in your eyes’ - now is your opportunity to do me a special favor- do this for me.
‘Yaakov knew full well that Yosef would bury him with all the glory possible , but he said: in all of this, don’t forget the truth: it is preferable to me that I not be buried at all, than that I be buried in Egypt.
‘We would not have thought that fulfilling this request would present such difficulty as to require an oath.
‘However, it appears that Pharoah and the Egyptians would not look kindly on it - it would be seen as offensive to their sensitivities.
‘A deeper reason underlay this. Yaakov had lived seventeen years in Egypt, he saw the deep influence this had on his children.
‘They started, in their minds, changing the Nile for the Jordan River, and ceased to see themselves as being in galut.
‘This, in itself, was sufficient reason to implore them not to bury Yaakov in Egypt, but to take him to their real homeland.
‘This would have been sufficient reason to say to them: your wish and hope is to be like the Egyptians - but, I, that is not my wish, nor to be buried in Egypt.
‘This is why he expresses this request of his - not as ‘Yaakov’, but as ‘Israel’, the bearer of the national destiny, as a warning of the future to his sons.’
לרפואת נועם עליזה בת זהבה רבקה ונחום אלימלך רפאל בן זהבה רבקה, בתוך שאר חולי עמנו.